The Partition of India

August 14,1947
 Introduction
Originally, India and Pakistan were both part of the British
Empire and were one country. In 1947, India wanted
independence and split from the British Empire, during
which Pakistan and India split. All of the Muslim people
in India were moved to Pakistan, and all the Hindu
people in Pakistan were moved to India, so Pakistan
became Muslim based and India became Hindu based.
There was a lot of conflict between the two
new countries, resulting in many deaths. This migration
is one of the largest in history, in terms of numbers of
people involved.
 Key People
Involved
 Mohammed Ali Jinnah-widely regarded as the founder
of Pakistan and was crucial in the splitting and conflict
of the two countries.
 Mahatma Gandhi-a famous philosopher and was
important in the partition because he worked with both
of the leaders of the Muslim and Hindu faith, to try
and resolve the conflict.
 Jawaharlal Nehru-the first and so far the longest
serving Prime Minister of India. He was a leading
influence in the Independence movement, and was
elected by Congress as the first Prime Minister.
 Basic Maps of the Partition

These two maps show how India was divided after

gaining independence from the British in 1947. The
first shows India under British rule, before the
partition. The second shows how the region was
divided after gaining independence and the breakaway
of East Pakistan(now Bangladesh) from West
Pakistan(Pakistan today) in1971 though the
 What is the Partition of India?
The partition of India is the
separation of India on
Aug.14,1947 and Aug.15,1947
into the states of the Dominion of
Pakistan and the Union of India,
respectively.
India was separated on
the day gaining independence
from British, due to tensions
between the Hindus and the
Muslims living in the country.
India gained independence after
350years of British presence in
the country.
 The Partition
 After Britain handed over self governance
to India on August14,1947,the plan for the
partition was put into action.
 The Mountbatten Plan is what India was
divided according to. The plan was written
by Cyril Radcliffe, who wrote it based on a
British commissioned report on India. The
plan was finalized on July18,1947 and was
put into action a month later.
 India was formed out of the mostly Hindu
regions and Pakistan was formed out of the
mainly Muslim regions. Pakistan was
formed in two dominions-East Pakistan
and West Pakistan, which were separated
geographically by India.
Leading up to Partition:1920-1932
 Not only were Indians struggling
to break away from British rule,
but they were also struggling
internally due to tensions
between Hindus and Muslims.
 The formation of the Indian
National Congress and the
Muslims League defined a fine
line between the two major
religious and their views.

The first to propose separate
states was writer and philosopher
Allama Iqbal in 1930. An except
from his conversation with the
Muslim League in 1930 appears
on the right.
Allama Iqbal’s 1930 Address to
Muslim League:
“The Hindus and Muslims belong
to two different religious,
philosophies, social customs
and literature……To yoke
together two such nations
under a single state, one as a
numerical minority and the
other as a majority, must lead
to growing discontent of any
fabric that may be so built up
for the government of such a
state.”
Leading up to Partition: 1937-1946
 Although many groups called for the separation of India based
on religion, the majority of Congress members were secular
and opposed to dividing the country solely based on religious.
 By the late 1930s, Muslims begin exiting congress and forming
separate groups that were pushing the formation of a new
Muslim state : Pakistan.
 At this time Britain did not directly rule India, but just oversaw
the whole country. Local and Regional governments comprised
of full Indian rule.
 In 1943, The Muslim League proposes a quick plan to divide
and gain independence; also known as “Divide and Quit”.
 Soon India was ready to be partitioned. Muslims and Hindus
were constantly in quarrels, and a plan was proposed to the
British.
 Effects on the People
 Many people were separated from family and
friends when the migration began. 12million
people were homeless refugees in either
Pakistan or India as they had to flee countries
because of discrimination.
 No-one knows how many people died, but
most estimates are around 500,000dead, but
some range up to 1million.
 Many people had to make long journeys
during the move, and often people were too
old, young or sick to complete it and were left
for dead along the way.
 Effects on the country
 There have been many effects on the
countries involved in this issue. Many of
these effects are based on diminished
populations in areas where there has been
substantial migration.
 Some states, such as Kashmir- a “princely
state”- had to choose whether to be part
of India or Pakistan, which led to major
conflict and the Indo-Pakistani War.
 Burma was granted independence from the
British Indian Empire on January 4,1948.
Sri Lanka(then Ceylon) was granted
independence on February 4,1948.
 Causes
 The movement of all the people was
actually decided years ahead by
the British, but was not put in place
until 15 August 1947.
 When India left the British Empire,
the British left many boundary
issues, which caused major conflict
between the two new countries.
 There was also a huge migration
between India and Pakistan as
people moved because of religious,
as they were afraid of being.
 Pictures

Above : map of India after the

Partition showing the areas of
Muslim domination in red.
Above right : map of India also after
the partition showing borders and
disputed borders.
Left : Refugees piling onto trains to
evacuate from India.
“A mOment COMES, WHICH
COMES BUT RARELY IN HISTORY,
WHEN WE STEP OUT FROM THE
OLD TO THE NEW, WHEN A AGE
ENDS, AND WHEN THE SOUL OF
THE NATION, THE LONG
SUPPRESSED, FINDS
UTTERANCE.”
-JAWAHARLAL
NEHRU,
• PRESENETED BY

ADITYA DHIGAN

HARSH KARDAM